The U.S. economy added a robust 256,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in December, building on the 212,000 positions created in November and closing the year on a strong note. This figure far surpassed the consensus estimate of 155,000 new jobs for the month. December’s growth marks the 48th consecutive month of nonfarm payroll expansion—a remarkable streak that has added 17.02 million jobs. Total nonfarm payroll employment has now climbed to a record 159.54 million, exceeding the pre-pandemic peak of February 2020 by 7.23 million jobs, or 4.7%.
While the labor market remains resilient, there are signs of a gradual slowdown in job creation. In 2024, the economy added 2.23 million net new jobs—a healthy figure, but a step down from the 4.53 million jobs added in 2022 and the 3.01 million in 2023.
The unemployment rate continued its recent fluctuations, edging down from 4.2% in November to 4.1% in December. Over the second half of 2024, the unemployment rate averaged 4.2%, up from 3.9% in the first half of the year, but it remains historically low. The number of unemployed individuals saw a slight increase, rising from 161.18 million to 161.66 million, while the labor force participation rate held steady at 62.5%.
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector rose by 0.2% in December, marking the slowest monthly increase since April. Year-over-year wage growth was 3.8%, the most modest pace since May 2021. Wage growth for this group has been steadily slowing since peaking at 7.0% in March 2022.
Job growth in December was widespread, with most sectors posting solid gains. Leading the charge were private education and health services; trade, transportation, and utilities (notably retail trade); leisure and hospitality (driven by eating and drinking establishments); and professional and business services. However, employment declined in manufacturing and mining and logging. The private sector contributed 223,000 new jobs, while government employment increased by 33,000. Below is a detailed breakdown of sector employment changes for December, ranked from highest to lowest:
- Private education and health services: +80,000
- Trade, transportation, and utilities: +49,000 (retail trade: +43,400)
- Leisure and hospitality: +43,000 (eating and drinking places: +29,800)
- Professional and business services: +28,000
- Local government: +17,000
- Financial activities: +13,000
- Information: +10,000
- State government: +10,000
- Construction: +8,000
- Other services: +8,000
- Federal government: +6,000
- Mining and logging: -3,000
- Manufacturing: -13,000
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